Some important questions

[yendi]

Was America 2-Night three spin-offs removed from Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (MH, MH -> Forever Fernwood -> Fernwood 2-Night) or one spin-off removed (Since FF and A2N were essentially rebrandings of MH, MH and F2N)?

How much of a rebranding can a show undergo before it's not just a new show? Was The Hogan Family more different than AfterMASH or The Brady Wives. If Golden Palace or Archie Bunker's Place had just aired as seasons of Golden Girls and All in the Family, would it have been just a new twist, as with the final season of Scrubs?

And where do people stand on Bloom County/Outland/Opus?

Also, I appear to be on a nostalgia kick.

Comments

[samhenderson.livejournal.com]

My theory of Outland was that Ronald-Ann (and possibly Opus) was killed in a drive-by and Outland was a kind of alternate-world-afterlife.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Hey, I remember watching American 2 Night, Fernwood 2 Night and MH, MH when they were new. :)

Fernwood Tonight was a spin-off of MH, MH. It also was a summer replacement for MH, MH. It later was re-branded as America 2-Night. The name changed because it left the fictional Fernwood, where MH, MH was set, for the equally fictional Californian 'tri-cities'.

Forever Fernwood wasn't really a spin-off. Louise Lasser left the show. Without the titular character, it was felt that the name needed to change.

[enderfem.livejournal.com]

Man, I watched a few episodes of MH, MH, when in the hospital as a kid and found it very weird and trippy. But then, I was on large doses of morphine, so my walls were trippy too.

Forgot completely about Golden Palace. I think it would have still felt like a new show, as the dynamics shifted with character departures and with setting changes, IMO.